Hearts and Souls
by Morganperidot
Summary: Sequel to Catching Up. Buffy and Angel follow up on their romantic interlude in the cemetery.
1. Default Chapter

Hearts and Souls  
By Morganperidot  
Chapter 1.  
  
Buffy punched in the phone number from memory. She didn't use it often, but she knew it by heart anyway.   
  
"Angel Investigations," the vampire himself answered.  
  
"Keeping the world safe?"  
  
"Whenever the Slayer isn't available."  
  
Buffy smiled. "How are things?"  
  
"Getting better finally. And yours?"  
  
"Not as bad as they have been."  
  
Buffy thought about the night they had spent together in the cemetery, the soft touch of his fingertips, and his lips against her skin. God, I miss you, she thought.  
  
"I miss you, too."  
  
"That's getting creepy."   
  
She could feel his smile. "Sorry," he said.   
  
"Is it true?"  
  
"Do you really need to ask me?"  
  
She didn't, not really. "Are you busy this weekend?" she asked.  
  
Angel laughed. "I thought we were always busy."  
  
"Seriously."  
  
After a brief pause he said, "I could make some time."  
  
"I wouldn't want to put you out."  
  
"It's OK if you come out with me."  
  
Buffy knew it probably wasn't a good idea for the two of them to socialize; really bad things could happen. The last time when they were together and nothing bad happened was probably a fluke. It wasn't a good idea to test the boundaries of what they could do together. The only smart thing to do was to drop the idea immediately. "Are you interested in seeing New York?" she asked.  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
From the airport Buffy took a bus to the Port Authority station; she was meeting Angel in nearby Times Square. When she stepped out of the doors of Port Authority it was already dark, early evening. As during the rest of the trip, her thoughts were of Angel. For a moment she stood on the sidewalk hesitating. Maybe we shouldn't do this, she thought Maybe I shouldn't meet him. No, she decided, I'm going to do it. And she headed toward Times Square.  
  
It was mostly a selfish decision; she couldn't come this close - the same place on the same day - and not see him. If necessary they would have to keep from physical contact with one another; they would have to keep from looking at and touching one another the way they would want to.   
  
But it was too late for that, because they were already exchanging those looks.  
  
He stood outside a pizza place dressed in a black jacket, shirt, and pants. She saw how everyone looked at him as they walked past. Even in a place like New York City he was mesmerizing.  
  
"I thought we were meeting in Times Square."  
  
"Sometimes a guy needs to stop for pizza."  
  
"You're not a guy."  
  
He smiled. "In some ways I am."  
  
Dangerous ways, Buffy thought. "Let's walk," she said.  
  
He fell into step with her. After an extended silence Angel asked, "Is something wrong?"   
  
"Sort of having the fourth thoughts."  
  
"Fourth?"  
  
"There was the decision to do this, then thinking maybe not, then thinking no it's right, then thinking..."  
  
"Because of Angelus."  
  
"Yes."  
  
They walked in silence again. Finally Angel stopped and Buffy did as well. They stood for a moment looking at one another. "We can say good-bye right here," Angel said softly. "It's OK with me."  
  
"It is?"  
  
"No. I'm being self-sacrificing and noble."  
  
"Stop it."  
  
Angel smiled. "OK."  
  
Buffy took the hand he offered and walked with him into Times Square and along Broadway, among the people going to restaurants and shows. Angel produced two tickets to a popular musical. Thinking of her jeans and casual top, Buffy said, "I'm not exactly dressed for an evening..."  
  
"We can do something else."  
  
The tone of his voice was quiet but strong. She thought about the difference between Angel and Spike: While Spike was the tough guy from the streets, Angel had true power from deep intelligence and emotion that ran through him like raging rivers, meeting in a soul that glowed through his lovely eyes. "I love you," she said, because it was the only way she could tell him what she was feeling. Angel drew her into his arms, and for a moment they just held onto each other. I don't want this to end, Buffy thought. I'm so damn tired of letting the world have its way.  
  
"I'll fight it with you," Angel whispered in her ear.   
  
"We can't win."  
  
"We are winning."  
  
Buffy stepped back from him. "This is just a fantasy," she said, "stolen moments. We'll both have to go back to..."Angel pulled her to him and brought his lips to hers, touching softly. Buffy pressed him away. "You know we can't really be like this," she said.   
  
Angel pulled something out of his pocket. He held it out for her to see; it was a green and white heart carved out of some kind of stone. "It's from Ireland," he said. "Connemara marble. It holds magic that..."  
  
Buffy closed his fingers over the stone. "Don't do this," she said.   
  
For a moment he said nothing, just looked at his hand holding the heart. Then he looked up at her and asked, "You don't want to try this?"   
  
"Is it worth bringing back Angelus?"  
  
"That won't happen."  
  
"We took a dangerous risk in Sunnydale," Buffy said. "We have responsibilities; we can't take those kinds of risks. You know that, Angel. Whatever you feel, you know that."  
  
The look in his eyes darkened. "Whatever I feel."  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
"I think I do," he said coolly. He opened his hand and let the heart fall from it to the ground where it broke on the sidewalk pavement. Then he turned and walked away.  
  
"Angel..." she said, but he had disappeared into the Broadway crowd, and she knew it wouldn't help things to run after him. Instead she bent down and picked up the two pieces of the heart. The marble had fractured in a jagged path down the middle, separating it into nearly equal halves.  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
Several weeks later at Buffy's house in Sunnydale, Willow set the marble pieces down on the dining room table. "It was clearly very powerfully charged," she said. Before Buffy could ask, she added, "With good magic. Most likely it was custom made and charged by a Celtic priestess."  
  
Buffy stood near Willow, staring at the two pieces on the table. "Would it do what he wanted?" she asked.  
  
"Probably not if he was the only one who wanted it."  
  
Buffy raised her eyes to Willow's. "Would it?"  
  
"Possibly."  
  
"Willow."  
  
"Yes, most likely, yes."  
  
For a moment Buffy just paced the room, thinking about that look in Angel's eyes and the anger he had felt...and was still feeling. Since they had returned - separately - from New York, news had filtered to her about his overdrive campaign to rid Los Angeles of anything remotely demonic. Creatures of all kinds were fleeing the area, including harmless and even helpful demons. It was said he was waging a one-man war, refusing any assistance.   
  
Buffy herself had fallen into a funk - but instead of being in overdrive, she was off her game entirely. She had finally dug the pieces of marble out of a drawer, sent everyone but Willow out, and brought the witch the two pieces of marble.  
  
Buffy picked up them up. The stone was smooth and cool. She rubbed her thumbs along the surface and then tried to bring the pieces together along the fracture line - but the two sides repelled one another. She tried again with the same result. She looked over at Willow. "Can you fix it?" she asked.  
  
"Are you sure that's what you want?"  
  
Buffy handed Willow the pieces. "I have to make this right," she said.  
  
"Maybe this is right," Willow said. "Maybe this is the way it has to be for you and Angel."  
  
"I don't think so," Buffy said. "Fix it."  
  
Willow took a piece in each hand and closed her eyes. After a long silence she spoke the words of a spell in a language Buffy didn't understand. It isn't going to work, Buffy thought. And she was right - when Willow opened her eyes and brought the two pieces toward one another there was still the force between them repelling them.  
  
"I'm sorry," Willow said.  
  
"It's all right," Buffy said, picking up the pieces and shoving them in her jacket pocket. "I'll do it myself."  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
It was dusk when Buffy arrived at the hotel where Angel lived and worked. Without a word to any of his friends standing around in the lobby, Buffy headed to Angel's room. She tried the doorknob; it didn't budge. She turned and found Fred standing behind her.  
  
"You should leave him be," Fred said.   
  
"Sorry, can't," Buffy said. "Do you have a key?"  
  
"Who do you think you are?" Fred said.  
  
Buffy walked past her and up to the lobby, then over to the lobby desk where she started opening drawers and rifling through their contents.  
  
"You should let us handle this," Wesley said.   
  
Buffy didn't look at him. "You don't even know what this is," she said.  
  
"And you do?" Fred said. The fury in the quiet woman's voice startled Buffy into looking up. "This time you've made him into something even worse than Angelus. You made him into a vampire who has a soul he doesn't want."  
  
"I know I hurt him..."  
  
"Hurt doesn't even touch on this," Fred said, coming closer. "This is like you sliced his heart open and left him with a wound that won't stop bleeding. This is..."  
  
"Stop it, Fred." Everyone in the room turned to look at Angel. Buffy could see his dark, burning anger from across the room. "I take it the Slayer is here to see me."  
  
"I need to talk to you," Buffy said.  
  
"Right," Angel said, walking across the room to the desk. "And what the Slayer needs is all that's important, right?" He stopped across the desk from her. "How can I be of service?   
  
The violence he put into the word Slayer sent a chill through her, but she refused to let him see it. "I'd like to talk with you in private," she said.  
  
"No."  
  
Buffy looked around the room and saw that Fred and Wesley - and Gunn who had recently entered the lobby - weren't going to leave. "You want to do this in front of an audience?" she said.  
  
"I don't want to do anything with you," Angel said.  
  
Buffy came around to his side of the desk. "You wouldn't be like this is that were true," she said.  
  
"You have always been selfish," Angel spit out.   
  
"And you have always been pathetic," Buffy countered, coming up close to him. "Do you think this makes you the big bad, Angel? Got a little Angelus envy, huh? Poor little Angel needs to act all tough and mean, because he can't actually be that. Pretty weak showing, if you ask me. You're a pale imitation of him." Angel pushed her away from him, and Buffy pushed back - and then they were launching into hand-to-hand combat without holding back, connecting with real, hard blows as they tore through the lobby of the hotel. And they continued to go at one another with fists and kicks, spinning and leaping apart and together. Buffy felt her admiration for him surge - he was more talented as a fighter than she remembered, and he worked his skills with choreographed brilliance, managing to get through her defenses and land vicious blows. Of course she landed a few of her own, sending him reeling back and down to the floor. But every time they rose and rejoined, fighting with the most amazing, surging passion Buffy had every felt. And when she realized that, she stopped. Right there, in the midst of the wreckage of the lobby she stopped and stared at him.  
  
"This isn't over yet," Angel said, positioning himself in a fighting stance.  
  
"It won't ever be," Buffy said. She took the two pieces of the heart out of her pocket and tossed them at his feet where they landed against the hard lobby floor without shattering further. "You left that in New York."  
  
Angel kicked the marble aside. "It's garbage."  
  
"You said you would fight with me," Buffy said. "Is this how you do that?"  
  
"That was a lie."  
  
"This is a lie," Buffy said, walking toward him, closing the space between them. Her heart was pounding hard. "When did you become such a coward?"  
  
Angel's eyes flashed with fury. "Get out of here," he said. Buffy stopped where she was - some six feet from him - and stood her ground. "Get out," he repeated, bending over and putting his fingers on one of the pieces of marble. "And take this thing with you." For a moment Buffy was certain he would pick up that piece and hurl it at her.  
  
But then everything changed.  
  
The piece of marble Angel was touching began to glow a soft rose color. Angel's knees came gently down to the floor, and he held the glowing piece of marble in the palm of his hand like a baby bird that had fallen from its nest. For several seconds no one moved. Then Angel closed his hand over the piece of marble and stood. He walked past Buffy without looking at her, back in the direction of his room.  
  
"What is that thing?" Fred said. "What did you do to him?"  
  
Buffy ignored her and walked over to where the remaining piece of marble lay on the lobby floor. After a brief hesitation she brought her fingers to it, and like the other piece, it began to give off that rosy glow. It was also warm to her touch as she slid her fingers around it. "Give us a few minutes," she said to no one in particular, before heading after Angel.  
  
This time the door to his room was ajar. She pushed it opened and stepped inside, closing it behind her. The room was completely dark, but she could feel his presence to her right. After a few seconds of adjustment she was able to make out the faint glow of the half the heart he still held. "Leave it here, and I'll have it destroyed," he said.  
  
"No," Buffy said. She just stood by the door and waited, listening to the silence that ensued. It wasn't a bad silence or even an unpleasant one. In some ways it was almost - comfortable. Nearly a minute of it passed, and Buffy closed her eyes.  
  
"What then?" Angel asked softly, some of the anger drained from his tone.   
  
Buffy looked over at him. "What do you want?"  
  
"This isn't just about me."  
  
"Well, seeing as I picked this thing up, brought it back with me from New York, and brought it here, it would seem that my intentions are pretty clear."  
  
"I guess I'm not as smart as I thought I was. Fill me in."  
  
"We've got two options: bring these pieces together or decide together that we aren't going to."  
  
Angel was quiet for a moment before saying, "Do you want to?"  
  
"I tried in Sunnydale, but it wouldn't work. I think it needs both of us."  
  
"That isn't really an answer."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I don't have anything better to do."  
  
He walked across the room to her. He was smiling. "I bet you could pick a fight with a vampire anywhere."  
  
"That wasn't exactly just a fight."  
  
"I suppose not." Angel held out his hand with the piece of marble glowing where it rested on his palm. "But the question is this: Am I really worth the hassle?"  
  
Buffy laughed. "I don't think that's the question you should be asking." She picked up her half of the heart in the fingers of her right hand.   
  
"What should I ask?"  
  
"Do I feel lucky?"  
  
Angel smiled. "Let's do this," he said. They brought their pieces of the marble heart together, and this time the pieces joined. The fractured center healed without a trace of a crack.   
  
"How much time?" Buffy asked, setting the heart on Angel's nightstand.   
  
"The priestess couldn't say. All she could tell me was that as long as the heart is one piece we can be together without the threat of Angelus. It could be an hour, a day..."  
  
Buffy pushed him down against the bed. "Let's stop wasting time," she said.   
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.  
  
Buffy woke smiling, and she stretched out across the bed, reaching for Angel. He wasn't there, and the sheets were cold. Terror spiked through her, and Buffy bolted upright, shooting a glance over at the nightstand. The heart was there, in one piece.  
  
Buffy dressed and went up to the lobby. No one was around except a young man who was sauntering in through the hotel doors. "You must be Buffy," he said.  
  
"Connor?"  
  
"So, you're the Slayer with the thing for vampires."  
  
"I'm Buffy."  
  
"Is it just Angel and Spike, or are there others?"  
  
Buffy parted her lips to reply, but then Angel came through the doors. He looked over at Connor and then at Buffy. "So, you two have met."  
  
"You could say that," Buffy said.   
  
"How's that magic working for you?" Connor asked. "Is the green heart going to replace the blue pill?"  
  
"Jealous much?" Buffy asked.  
  
Connor stared at her for a moment and then turned and walked out of the hotel. "He's a little immature sometimes," Angel said, depositing something on the lobby desk. Buffy came closer and saw that it was a beautifully carved wood box.   
  
"What is this?" she asked.  
  
"Something I picked up at the occult shop," he said, gently raising the lid so she could see the red velvet inside. "For protecting that piece of marble."  
  
"Do you think that will make it last longer?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know," he said, closing the lid carefully. "I don't know if anything can."  
  
Buffy walked over to him, close, and pressed him up against the lobby desk. She put her hands on his cheeks and lowered his face to hers, delivering a deep, hot kiss that burned through her. Angel pressed her closer as he broke the kiss and brought his lips to her neck. The sensation of his teeth against her skin was almost more than she could bear.  
  
"Careful, Slayer," he whispered, his hands traveling up her back before gently pressing her away. "I'm still a vampire."  
  
"Not finding that a problem at the moment," Buffy said. "You know, what if we're right in the middle of something and the heart falls apart?" she asked.  
  
"Right in the middle of what?" Angel teased.  
  
"I'm serious."  
  
"I guess we'd be screwed," Angel said. But then he smiled again.  
  
"Great," Buffy said, "this is still dangerous, and you're making light of it."  
  
"Everything we do is dangerous," Angel said. He picked up the box and took it down to his room where he placed the heart inside; Buffy followed, watching as he set it carefully on a shelf. "It's a beautiful night," he said. "Let's go for walk."  
  
"We're going to have to talk about Sunnydale."  
  
"Eventually."  
  
"I don't want to miss any of the time I could be with you."  
  
Angel smiled. "I could just drop the thing..."  
  
Buffy grabbed his hand. "Don't even joke about that," she said, steering him out of the room and back up to the lobby. As they headed toward the door she said, "You could make a real visit in Sunnydale."  
  
"I don't know about that," Angel said.  
  
"Because of Spike."  
  
"I'd rather not see him."  
  
"He's going to find out about this."  
  
Angel stopped walking. "Do you think I'm afraid of Spike?" he asked.  
  
"No, I just mean that when he finds out about this it's only a matter of time before the confrontation," she said. "Maybe it would be better to get it over with."  
  
Angel put his hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him head on. "Tell me this isn't about some sick desire to see your vampire lovers duke it out over you," he said.  
  
"I don't know if I would say it was a sick desire..."  
  
"Buffy."  
  
"No, I don't have a desire to see you and Spike fight...though wrestling in mud or chocolate pudding might not be that bad. Is that considered sick?"  
  
"Not if it's you and me."  
  
"That could probably be arranged," Buffy said. "Is Spike the reason you didn't come to Sunnydale more often?"  
  
"I had some concerns of my own here."  
  
"Like Cordelia?"  
  
Angel raised an eyebrow. "Cordy was a part of it."  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"Recovering from what she went through."  
  
"How serious was it between you?"  
  
Angel sighed. "It hadn't really gotten anywhere yet."  
  
"But you wanted it to."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And now?"  
  
"Cordy deserves to be the love of someone's life. I think if there wasn't a you and me I would have tried again with her. But she deserves better than to be my second choice." He looked away for a moment and then looked back at her. "What about Spike?"  
  
"It became more than I wanted or expected, but it wasn't like it is with you."  
  
Angel smiled. "It hasn't always been that great with me."  
  
"True, but when it's good, it's the best." Angel closed the space between them and pulling her up against him. "Careful, vampire," Buffy said. "I'm still the Slayer."  
  
"Not finding that a problem at the moment."  
  
"Is that a stake in your pocket...?"  
  
Angel laughed. "I'm just happy to see you," he said.  
  
"You're really a piece of work, you know that?"  
  
"I know."  
  
"I love you."  
  
"I love you too."  
  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
The next time Buffy woke, Angel was beside her sleeping. For a while she just laid there; then she glanced over at he open box holding the heart. It was still there and in one piece. She wondered for a moment whether she was more concerned about it because of her selfish desire to be with Angel or because of the possibility of releasing Angelus.   
  
She trailed her fingers over Angel's shoulder, and he stirred slightly. It was morning and time for vampires to sleep and rebuild their strength. "Angel," she whispered, but he was too deeply asleep to respond. She kissed his neck. "I love you," she said. Then she got up and got dressed.  
  
After enduring the stares of Angel's friends in the hotel lobby, Buffy headed out into the sunlight. It was a shame that Angel couldn't do the same thing, that he could never go with her to a beach or anywhere else outside in the daylight. Of course they were both well aware of the limitations of his being a vampire. But Buffy appreciated another fact as well - if he weren't a vampire she would never have met and fallen in love with him - and been loved by him. He would have likely been dead centuries before her birth. Though she would never admit it, she knew she had something to thank Darla for - if Darla hadn't created Angelus, Buffy wouldn't have Angel.   
  
Buffy spent the day walking on the beach and shopping. It felt nice to be outside and to spend time by herself. She knew she was needed back in Sunnydale, but sometimes even the Slayer had to be able to take a vacation - especially when that vacation meant spending quality time with her soul mate.  
  
And that was the real truth of it, wasn't it - that what had happened to them had happened because it was meant to be, because they were meant to be together? Fate had molded both of them into what they would need to be to be together.  
  
When she arrived back at the hotel at dusk Wesley was waiting outside. "We need to talk," he said, steering Buffy away from the doors. They walked a short distance away. Buffy wondered if Wesley really thought Angel wouldn't be able to hear them out there if he were awake. "You have to put an end to this," he said.  
  
"I don't think this is your business, Wesley."  
  
"I know what it's like to be involved in an ill-fated relationship, and this one is even more hopeless than mine was."  
  
"You don't understand this."  
  
"Yes, I do. The two of you think this is fated. It may be that, but what fate brings to pass may not be the best thing for the two of you or the rest of the world."  
  
Buffy sighed. "I understand this, Wesley, and I appreciate the acting as Giles. But you have to let us work this out. This is between Angel and me."  
  
"I think this time he'll need you to be the one who lets go."  
  
"You don't know what he needs," Buffy said. "It's about time that everyone kept their fingers out of our lives. We might belong to everyone else as far as keeping the world safe, but what is between us belongs to us alone." She heard clapping and turned in the direction of Connor who stood inside the doorway of the hotel.   
  
"Good luck with that," Connor said.  
  
Buffy smiled. "You are a lot like your father," she said, walking past him.  
  
"Is that a good thing?"  
  
"We'll see," Buffy replied.   
  
She found the door to his room as she had left it - closed and unlocked. She pushed the door open. Angel stood by his small refrigerator drinking from a glass half filled with blood. He set down the glass when she came into the room. A drop of blood rested on his upper lip; he licked it away with his tongue.   
  
"Sorry about the barging in," she said.   
  
"It's all right," Angel said. "What is all this?"   
  
"Mostly clothes," Buffy said, dumping out her shopping bags. "I didn't do much packing before coming out here." She picked through the underwear, tops, and skirts.  
  
"Are you planning on staying a while?"   
  
Buffy looked at him. "I'm planning on being with you. If you aren't coming to Sunnydale..."  
  
"I'll go to Sunnydale."  
  
Buffy stopped what she was doing and turned to him. "I thought we discussed this yesterday, and you said..."  
  
"Spike can bite my ass."  
  
Buffy smiled. "OK," she said. "But I don't think you're his type."  
  
Angel shrugged. He slid his arms around her. "If you want me in Sunnydale, I'll be in Sunnydale."  
  
"I'm starting to worry about this."  
  
"Too clingy?" Angel asked.  
  
"That is so not the problem."  
  
"What then?"  
  
"Too good," Buffy said. "Way too good for us."  
  
"I kind of like being happy."  
  
Buffy looked up at his face. "Yeah?"  
  
"Yeah." He kissed her gently.  
  
"What are we going to do if...when we can't do this anymore?"  
  
"We'll do what we have to," Angel said.  
  
"I don't know if..."  
  
"We will," Angel said. He looked at all of the clothes and bags. "Nothing for me?"   
  
"You'll get yours," Buffy said. But then picked up a small bag and held it out to him.  
  
"I was kidding."  
  
"I'm not. I owe you something for what you did."  
  
"Which time?"   
  
"Be serious."  
  
Angel took the small box from a jewelry store out of the bag and set the bag down on the bed. "I bet it's earrings," he said, "something to go with..."  
  
"Angel, open it." He looked at her for a moment and then lifted the top of the box. He stood there looking at what was inside it for so long that Buffy began to worry. "Angel..."  
  
"Is this a joke?" he asked quietly.  
  
"I didn't intend it to be."  
  
Angel lifted the rose gold band from the green velvet box. His soft brown eyes met hers. "You want me to wear this?"  
  
"That's the idea," Buffy said. "Unless..."  
  
"Angel!" Wesley called out. "We've got a problem - Zarnack demon about to lay eggs."  
  
"I'll be right there," Angel called back. He put the ring back in the box, then set it aside. "We'll discuss this later," he said. "If you want to change clothes and join us, we could use the help." He headed up the stairs. Buffy just looked over at the ring and sat down on the bed.  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
Buffy did change her clothes but didn't join them. She knew Angel's group could handle whatever the emergency was without her help. Instead she spent the time pacing, waiting for them to return.   
  
Angel finally arrived with his friends behind him. All of them were spattered with yellow Zarnack demon blood. They were talking and smiling, laughing. As the group dispersed Angel came over to her, his eyes shining. "You should have come," he said.   
  
"I figured you could handle it."  
  
He took her hand and led her back to his room. Once inside he lit a candle, and Buffy closed the door. She glanced at the marble heart, which was still safe and sound. She sat down on the bed as Angel took a quick shower. When he emerged from the bathroom in a blue bathrobe he got the ring and sat beside her. "Tell me about this," he said.  
  
"It's called a ring. It goes on your finger."  
  
"What does it mean?"  
  
"It means that you're wearing a nice rose gold ring with a Celtic knot pattern that I got for you."  
  
"That's all?"  
  
"And it means that this is more than messing around."  
  
Angel smiled. "More than it was with Spike."  
  
"It has always been that."  
  
Angel rolled the ring between his fingers. "I wish we could have normal lives together, a family with children..."  
  
"I don't need that. I need you."  
  
"Still selfish," Angel said softly.  
  
"I'm willing to make compromises to be with you."  
  
"You shouldn't have to."  
  
"I want to."  
  
"And somewhere down the road you won't blame me?"  
  
"I can't see the future. But I know this is what I want to do now."  
  
"What about the big picture?"  
  
"Forget the big picture. The big picture sucks."   
  
Angel laughed. "That doesn't sound like very wise planning."  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm tired of planning - and I'm tired of talking. Either put that thing on or not. It's your decision."  
  
Angel looked at the ring for a moment, then slid it on his left ring finger. "There are going to be a lot of things to work out," he said.  
  
"I know. But I think it's time for us to do that." Buffy looked at his hand before entwining her fingers with his. "It's going to work this time," she said.  
  
"I know."  
  
"You believe it?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really. Do you?"  
  
"I think so."  
  
"Then maybe tomorrow we should go to Sunnydale. And after that we can figure out just how we are going to work this."  
  
"That's too much to think about tonight," Buffy said.  
  
"No thinking tonight," Angel replied, putting his arms around her. "Tonight we just feel." 


End file.
